Aeternum has a fairly standard scoring system. There’s no real complex mechanics at play. I was more interested in building something that was generally simple and solid. You can definitely bet that I’ll be taking what I learned here and working hard to make a scoring system that’s much more compelling and interesting next time I attempt to build a shmup, though!

Until then, here’s how scoring in Aeternum is broken down. Happy point hunting!

Point Breakdown

Graze (focused) – 1 point (PC: 10 points)

Graze (unfocused) – 10 points

Shoot an enemy – 100 points

Kill an enemy – 1000 points

Bullet Point Item – 100 points

When a boss phase is completed, all remaining enemy bullets on screen are converted to Bullet Point Items and automatically collected. These items are worth 100 points each.

Note that collecting a point item gives at least 20% of the value, ramping linearly up to 100% at the Point of Collection.

Clearing a Boss Spell -

When a boss pulls you into their own subspace to perform an attack, and the visual background changes, they are performing a spell. Exhausting the boss’s hit points without dying or using a bomb(PC: bombing does not fail a bonus) rewards you with a significant point bonus based on difficulty rank and time remaining on the boss attack. This bonus is calculated as follows: